1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer, an LCD substrate, or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
In lithography in semiconductor device fabrication, for example, first a resist solution is applied onto a front surface of a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9ca waferxe2x80x9d) or the like to form a resist film in a substrate processing apparatus. Thereafter, the wafer is transferred to an aligner different from the substrate processing apparatus to be exposed. The exposed wafer is transferred again to the substrate processing apparatus where the wafer is supplied with a developing solution to be subjected to developing processing.
Incidentally, in the substrate processing apparatus, various processing units such as a resist coating processing unit for applying a resist solution to the wafer and processing it, a heat processing unit for performing heat processing for the wafer after resist coating processing or for the wafer after exposure processing, a cooling unit for performing cooling processing for the wafer after heat processing, a developing unit for supplying a developing solution to the wafer and performing developing processing for the wafer, and the like are provided individually. These units are multi-tiered. The wafer is transferred between the processing units and carried in and out of the processing unit by means of transfer means. The transfer means transfers the wafer to the various processing units in predetermined order.
The order of transfer of a wafer is considered conventionally, but the transfer route of the wafer is not considered very much. Therefore, in some cases, the transfer route of the wafer becomes complicated, and thus the wafer can not always be transferred efficiently. For example, there is a possibility of causing a harmful effect such that delay occurs in transfer of the wafer.
The present invention is made in view of the aforesaid respect, and an object of the present invention is to provide a new substrate processing apparatus capable of transferring a substrate efficiently without complicating a transfer route of the substrate by transfer means.
To attain the above object, one of main aspects of the present invention is a substrate processing apparatus, comprising a plurality of first processing units, disposed along a first transfer route, each for processing a substrate, a plurality of second processing units, disposed along a second transfer route, for processing the substrate after the substrate processed in the first processing unit is processed in a processing apparatus, and transfer means for transferring the substrate between the plurality of first processing units disposed along the first transfer route and transferring the substrate between the plurality of second processing units disposed along the second transfer route.
According to the aforesaid structure of the present invention, the substrate is transferred through the first transfer route by means of the transfer means until the substrate is carried into the processing apparatus, for example, an aligner, and processed in the first processing units disposed along the first transfer route. Subsequently, after being transferred to the different processing apparatus and processed therein, the substrate is transferred through the second transfer route different from the first transfer route by means of the transfer means, and processed in one, or two or more processing units disposed along the second transfer route. The substrate is transferred through the first transfer route and the second transfer route which are independent of each other, thereby preventing the complication of the first transfer route and the second transfer route.